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February 2, 2013

THE BLACK MADONNA OF TINDARI

The church that sit atop a mountain contains the Black Madonna of Tindari. The statue bears the inscription "NIGRA SUM SED FORMOSA" meaning "I am black but beautiful".

The Black Madonna is said to be miraculous starting from its arrival on the Greek-originated city of Tindari in Sicily.

The legend states that the ship carrying the Madonna's statue was forced to docked in the area because of strong storm. They unloaded some of their stuffs at the abbey including the statue. Since then on the Madonna stayed on the basilica and has helped and protected the town from several wars.

Another famous legend is the story of the lagoon. It was said to be created when a pilgrim refused to pray to the Madonna because she was black. The woman accidentally dropped her baby into the ocean and she asked the Madonna to save her baby, The Madonna then made the land rise to save the infant. The shape of the sands of the lagoon looks like the image of the Madonna carrying the baby.

Another interesting characteristic of the church are its mosaic-laden walls.